This disclosure relates generally to recommending content to social networking system users, and more specifically to identifying content items or users for presentation to a social networking system user.
A social networking system allows its users to connect to and communicate with other social networking system users. For example, a social networking system allows a user to maintain content items, such as images or video data, and present the content items to other social networking system users. A social networking system user may establish a connection to other users, prompting the social networking system to present content items received from the other user to the user, encouraging interaction between the various users.
However, many conventional social networking systems merely present a content item received from a user to other users connected to the user or identify additional users that are connected to users connected to the user as possible users with which the user may establish a connection. However, this may result in a user being presented with content items or additional users in which the user may have minimal interest. If a social networking system presents the user with content items or users in which the user is uninterested, the user may discourage the user from interacting with the social networking system.